Method of grinding glass stoppers.



M. MATHY.

METHOD OF GRINDING GLASS STOPPERS.

APPLICATION FILED ram/1a. 1915.

Mbfless s:- I I 6 Nan/rice Na/hy Dover; Eon by 566cm e y Patented July 3, 1917.

MAURICE MATHY, OF FLEMALEE GBANDE, BELGIUM.

METHOD OF GRINDING GLASS STOPPEBS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 3, 1917.

Application filed May 18, 1915. Serial No. 28,952.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MAURICE MATHY, a subject of the King of Belgium, residing at Flemalee Grande, Belgium, 28 Rue Lopold, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of Grinding Glass Stoppers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled-in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters or figures of reference marked therein, which form a part of this specification.

The present invention relates to an easy and economical method of grinding glass stoppers in such amaner that perfect stoppering and adhesion of the stopper to the bottle neck are attained.

This method consists in grinding each stopper by means of the neck of the bottle to which the stopper must be secured, said bottle neck having previously been completely ground by any suitable means and abrading agent. By rotating the stopper at a high speed and at the same time driving it in the bottle neck, it is possible to have the stopper ground by the action of the rugosity of the previously ground neck; besides, the

stopper is made to suit exactly the neck and no abrading agent is required.

When this method is used, the stopper must be secured to the end of a rotary shaft and the present invention also relates to practical means for securing the stopper. This means consists in an india-rubber block provided on the end of the shaft and in which is created an axial hollow adapted to take in the stoppers knob in such a, manner that the edges of the cavity cover the lower' part of the knob. By these means, the stopper can be put in position very quickly; the stopper is sufficiently secured to the rotary shaft as by a ball and socket or universal joint allowing the stopper to lean and to center exactly in the bottle neck.

The drawings show by way of example, a side view, partly in section, of a preferred embodiment of the invention.

The machine comprises a' horizontal shaft 1, journaled in bearings 2 forming parts of a frame 3, and driven at the required speed by means of a step-pulley 4. The shaft 1 terminates in a square rod 5 on which the stopper-carrier 6 is secured; this stoppercarrier is provided with a housing 7, prismatical in shape, ada ted to contain an india-rubber or the like lock 8. In this block and in a line with the axis of the shaft 1', a cavity is provided, the shape of which is chosen so as to suit the shape to the knob 9 of the stopper 10. The edges 11 of this cavity cover the lower part of the knob 9 in such a manner that the knob can only be forced into the cavity owing to the elasticity of the rubber block; it is then secured in the cavity by said elasticity.

\Vhen the stopper to be ground has been secured to the rotary shaft in the hereinbefore described manner, the workman takes the bottle 12 that the stopper must fit, the neck 13 of which has been previously ground completely by means of any suitable abrading agent. While the stopper 10, driven by the shaft 1, is rotating on its own axis at a high speed, the workman brings the bottle nearer to the stopper 10 in such a manner that the stopper gradually gets into the mouth 13. The stopper is ground in this manner, without using any abrading agent, by the mouth 13 itself which remains always rugous after grinding. The workman puts an end to the operation when the stopper fits exactly the mouth 13.

It must be noted that the stopper is holden exactly centered by the rubber block 8 owing to the high speed rotation. The knob 9 is however allowed to move slightly in the cavity of the block 8, like the ball of a ball and socket joint; thus the stopper can remain in the axis of the mouth of the bottle holden by the workman.

What I claim is:

In apparatus for grinding glass stoppers, the combination of a rotary shaft, a housing at the end of said shaft, a block of elastic material in said housing provided with a hollow interior having a contracted opening or neck portion leading thereto which is adapted to engage around the stopper beneath the head thereof when the latter is inserted into the hollow interior of the flexible block.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

MAURICE MATHY.

Witnesses:

Gnonens VANDEB mm, HENRI Jom. 

